The Epstein case Andrew's crash - chronicle of a royal scandal

What began as a social acquaintance developed into one of the most serious crises in the recent history of the British royal family. The affair surrounding Jeffrey Epstein cost Prince Andrew his office, title and reputation. Ex-Prince Andrew was arrested on Thursday.

Now the long-standing relationship with Jeffrey Epstein seems to be getting in the way of former Prince Andrew after all. On Thursday, the ex-royal was arrested on the Sandringham estate.

Photos from the summer of 1999, which were presented as evidence in the trial against Ghislaine Maxwell in 2021, show Prince Andrew together with Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell at the Balmoral royal estate in Scotland.

According to reports, it was also the year in which Andrew and Epstein - through Maxwell - first met.

Prince Andrew and Epstein are increasingly in contact. In February of the same year, they are spotted - together with Ghislaine Maxwell - at US President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club.

The next explosive encounter followed later: Epstein and Maxwell attended several birthday parties for members of the Royal Family at Windsor Castle - including Prince Andrew's 40th birthday.

Virginia Giuffre (née Roberts) makes serious accusations: at the age of 17, she was introduced to Prince Andrew by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. A total of three sexual encounters are alleged to have taken place - beginning in March 2001 in Maxwell's London townhouse.

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In court documents - as well as in her memoirs published in October 2025 - Giuffre also writes that she had sex with Andrew on Epstein's private island and at his New York estate.

Another Epstein victim later stated in a witness statement in 2016 that the prince had touched her indecently and grabbed her breast during this time.

Prince Andrew has denied all allegations for years. Buckingham Palace also emphasized in an earlier statement: "Any allegation of misconduct with minors is categorically untrue".

Jeffrey Epstein is officially sentenced in Florida - for soliciting a minor for prostitution.

As part of a controversial deal with the public prosecutor's office, he serves just 13 months in prison - a sentence that causes a sensation at the time.

Epstein's former housekeeper later testified that Prince Andrew had visited his estate the year after the conviction - in full knowledge of the sentence. During a stay there, he is said to have received "daily massages".

Andrew's ex-wife Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson also got in touch with him again after Epstein's prison sentence. In published emails, the financier describes her as "desperate" for money after she is said to have asked him for 15,000 pounds.

Further leaked messages suggest that Fergie was "the first to celebrate" Epstein's release and visited him in New York for a "welcome-back" party - together with her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

However, according to a report in the Telegraph, a source close to the royals explained that the Duchess and the two princesses had no memory of such a trip.

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Despite Epstein's conviction, Prince Andrew visits the convicted sex offender in New York. Photos show the two of them walking in Central Park. Andrew later explains that he undertook the trip to end the friendship personally - a move he describes in retrospect as a "mistake".

The Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson writes to Epstein in an email, thanking him for money she was able to use to pay off personal debts.

"My dear, dear friend Jeffrey, how can I ever thank you enough? You are a true friend ... You have my heart. With great affection, dear Jeffrey," it says.

The media pressure increases when it becomes public that Prince Andrew is still in contact with Jeffrey Epstein.

In an email, he writes: "Stay in close contact and we'll do something again soon!" And further: they are "in this together".

The Epstein affair hits Great Britain with full force. The media report on a loan of 15,000 pounds to Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson - photos of Andrew and Epstein from 2010 also emerge.

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Ferguson publicly distances herself, calls Epstein a "paedophile" and speaks of a "serious error of judgment".

Prince Andrew is summoned to Buckingham Palace for crisis talks. His public duties and his role as Trade Representative are suddenly on the line.

Although she had publicly distanced herself from Epstein, Sarah Ferguson wrote him another private email after a reportedly "disturbing" phone call. In it, she calls him an "extraordinary friend" and apologizes for her public statements - after Epstein is said to have reacted angrily to her condemnation.

A spokesperson for the Duchess later explained that the message had been sent on legal advice in order to counteract possible legal threats from Epstein.

The public pressure has consequences: Prince Andrew resigns from his post as British Trade Representative - effectively a royal demotion. It is the first major consequence of his association with Jeffrey Epstein.

After years of relative calm, the Epstein scandal flares up again. Virginia Giuffre goes to court in the USA and attacks Epstein's controversial deal with the public prosecutor's office. In her petition, she names Prince Andrew as one of the men she was forced to marry by Epstein and Maxwell when she was a minor.

Buckingham Palace immediately rejected the allegations. Andrew continues to deny any form of misconduct, they say.

Virginia Giuffre testifies under oath in a civil lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell. She claims that Jeffrey Epstein paid her more than 11,000 pounds after she slept with Prince Andrew.

In her testimony, she describes in detail an alleged sexual encounter in the bathtub of Maxwell's London home. Andrew's lawyers attempt to challenge the account as a "false memory".

Jeffrey Epstein is arrested again - this time on federal charges related to sex trafficking of minors. The arrest also brings Prince Andrew back into the spotlight.

Just a few weeks later, on August 10, Epstein is found dead in his prison cell. The authorities assume suicide. He was 66 years old.

Buckingham Palace publishes a statement saying that Prince Andrew is "dismayed by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged crimes".

It goes on to say: "His Royal Highness condemns the exploitation of any human being." The idea that he condoned, participated in or encouraged such behavior is "abhorrent".

In the infamous BBC "Newsnight" interview on November 14 - described by many as a total PR disaster - Prince Andrew attempts to salvage his reputation.

Among other things, he claims that he cannot sweat for medical reasons - after Virginia Giuffre testified that he "sweated all over her" when they danced together.

He also claims to have been in a Pizza Express restaurant on the evening of the alleged encounter. However, the performance backfires.

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When asked whether he regrets his friendship with Epstein today, Andrew replies: "I still don't." The contacts and opportunities that arose through Epstein were "very useful".

After the interview debacle, Prince Andrew draws the consequences: He is stepping down from his royal duties for the time being.

In a statement approved by the Queen, he announces that he will withdraw from the public eye and from his official duties "for the foreseeable future".

Although Prince Andrew had publicly stated that he wanted to cooperate with the authorities, US investigators expressed clear criticism.

Geoffrey Berman, then United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, stated that Andrew had shown "zero cooperation" with the FBI in connection with the Epstein investigation.

Prince Andrew's official website is shut down. Instead, visitors are automatically redirected to the Royal Family's general website.

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Virginia Giuffre files a civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew in New York. She accuses him of sexually abusing her in 2001 when she was 17 years old. The statement of claim mentions three encounters, and she also claims emotional and psychological damage.

Andrew's lawyers are requesting that the lawsuit be dismissed. They refer to a 2009 settlement between Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein, which allegedly also protected third parties from legal action.

A US federal judge rejects Prince Andrew's motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

Queen Elizabeth II withdraws Prince Andrew's remaining military titles and royal patronages - even after protests from soldiers and veterans. The monarchy clearly wants to distance itself from the scandal.

A palace statement also states that Andrew may no longer use the title "His Royal Highness" in an official capacity in future. He will defend the civil action brought by Virginia Giuffre "as a private individual".

Instead of going to court, Prince Andrew reached an out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre - the amount of the payment was not disclosed.

In a public statement, he recognizes Giuffre as a victim and praises her "courage". However, the agreement expressly does not include an admission of guilt.

Virginia Giuffre, the central plaintiff in the case against Prince Andrew, takes her own life at the age of 41.

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Her death comes just a few months before the publication of her revelatory memoirs.

An email from 2011 brings Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson back to the center of the Epstein scandal. The Mail on Sunday published a message of apology in which she described the convicted sex offender as a "steadfast" and "exceptional friend".

Several British children's charities and organizations, of which Ferguson was a patron, subsequently parted company with her. A spokeswoman for the Duchess explains that the email was sent solely to defuse Epstein's threats of a libel action. As soon as she was aware of the full extent of his crimes, she broke off contact and publicly condemned him.

Prince Andrew announces via Buckingham Palace that he will no longer use his title "Duke of York" in future.

The statement reads: "In discussions with the King and my immediate and wider family, we have come to the conclusion that the continuing allegations against me detract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family. I have decided to put my duty to my family and my country first."

At the same time, Andrew reiterates that he denies the allegations "emphatically".

Virginia Giuffre's memoir "Nobody's Girl" is published after her death. In it, she renews her serious accusations against Prince Andrew. She claims that he behaved as if it was "his birthright" to sleep with her - even though she was 17 at the time.

The book also describes how Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly brought the vulnerable teenager into a sex trafficking ring. Giuffre writes that at times she believed she would die as a sex slave.

Prince Andrew officially loses his title of Prince and has to leave his Royal Lodge estate.

"His Majesty has today commenced formal proceedings to revoke the title and honors of Prince Andrew," Buckingham Palace announced. "Prince Andrew will henceforth be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor."

It also states that his tenancy agreement for the Royal Lodge had previously offered him legal protection to remain there. This has now been formally terminated and Andrew will move to other private accommodation. The measures are necessary - regardless of the fact that he continues to deny the allegations.

Emails released by the US Congress provide insight into Prince Andrew's reaction to a planned newspaper report about his links to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

In one message, the then-prince apparently writes: "What is all this? I know nothing about it! Please say so. This has NOTHING to do with me. I can't take it anymore."

Another email suggests that the photo showing Andrew with his arm around the then 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre is genuine.

In an exchange with a journalist in July 2011, Epstein also commented on Giuffre: "Yes, she was on my plane, and yes, she was photographed with Andrew - like many of my employees."

Following the publication of the so-called "Epstein Files", further details of Prince Andrew's visits to Epstein's estate come to light.

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A picture is also published showing Andrew on all fours above a woman whose face is blacked out.

A spokesperson for the King takes a clear stance: "The King has made clear, both in words and through unprecedented measures, the extent of his concern about the allegations that continue to come to light in relation to Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor's conduct."

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